Electricity generation from natural gas power plants in Texas dipped by 1% over the first nine months of the year, and it could book an annual decline if wind generation lives up to expectations in the final quarter of the year.
Reuters’ Gavin Maguire reported, citing LSEG data, that wind and solar generation in Texas rose by 14% over the first nine months of the year, driving a 5% increase in total electricity output in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas area so far this year.
The biggest contributor to the 5% increase, which led to a record-high total generation, was solar power, the data showed. It went up by 45% on the year between January and September. However, winter is not the optimal season for solar generation, meaning that wind capacity would have to pick up to maintain the non-hydrocarbon momentum in the Lone Star State.
Meanwhile, the subtotal of non-hydrocarbon sources of energy grew to represent 46% of ERCOT’s electricity generation in the first nine months of the year, at 7.1 million megawatts—a record high. The total electricity output in Texas in the period stood at 15.6 million MW, also an all-time high.
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Electricity demand in the state, however, is set for a surge amid the booming growth in data centers. That demand would require stable electricity supply that does not depend on the weather, so chances are that gas generation demand is also on its way higher in the immediate and the longer term.
Earlier this year, an environmentalist outlet, the Environmental Integrity Project, reported it had counted 130 new gas-fired power plant proposals for Texas, after ERCOT forecast a supply shortage emerging as soon as 2027. Unless addressed, the shortage would deepen from 8.3% to 32.4% by 2029.
The Texas grid is already facing challenges resulting from the proliferation of data centers. In June, Governor Greg Abbott signed a law allowing power cuts to data centers during periods of tight electricity supply.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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